Thesis:

1. JST shows the Garden of God in Missouri spoken of by Joseph Smith must be different than the Garden of Eden in Palestine. Eden is eastward compared to the Garden of God, hence Adam & Eve being placed “eastward in Eden”
2. Adam & Eve were conceived naturally on this earth by Heavenly Father & Mother. The “from the dust” and “rib” are figurative. In the Garden of God, Heavenly Father and Mother partook of fruit enabling their bodies to sire Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve later followed this and similarly partook of fruit. These events resulted in confusion of Brigham & Heber thinking Adam WAS God.
3. Adam & Eve grow up in the Garden of God, then are placed eastward in Eden. After leaving Eden, they return to their homeland near Missouri to till the ground from whence they came, which is the place of all biblical events pre-flood (with exception of the episodes in the Garden of Eden).

 

See https://www.bookofmormonpromisedland.com/EDEN.htm by Ward Vincent Coon for more on this, he seems to be the only one who has parsed this doctrine out, showing where the truth and error of Adam God teachings are, explaining how it all fits together. The above essay is long and complex, here is an overview of some ideas covered there. It is a study of how Eden and Adam God teachings are interrelated, and shows what is and isn’t correct of Adam God, why the error, and what truths we can receive from the teachings.

Info on Coon: Coon is an LDS Hebrew scholar who lived in Israel with a Jewish rabbi for years, & is a physicist.  On the down side, Coons thinks BofM happens all around New York, a small geography model, too small, like the Meso theory, it is too small too, it too a long time for them to meet, it had to be a large area. Coons believes in evolution, its hard for academics to get away from this dogmatic view.

 

 

BRIGHAM HAD AN INCORRECT INTERPRETATION, BUT HE HAD NO JST:

Brigham Young didn’t have access to JST. Emma held it. (Note: Brigham didn’t like mother Lucy Smith’s book of the history of the church (despite being the one who commissioned her to write it), it didn’t cover apostacy of William Smith, she didn’t want to say ill of her son. But this is important when it comes to succession of keys, etc.)

JST of Genesis wasn’t available until Woodruff or Pratt got it and published it in the Millennial Star. 1852 was Brigham’s Adam God doctrine, it wasn’t until after that that he had the JST. Brigham was the only prophet who didn’t have access to all our modern-day scriptures, it’s natural that he would have misunderstanding of some things.

When teaching Adam God, Brigham said he had not fit it with scripture. Orson Pratt was a greater scriptorian than Brigham, Orson had the teachings while JS was formulating them. Orson didn’t like the Adam God teaching. Some are better versed in scripture than others; consider Mark E Peterson who brought 5 bibles to his speeches and quoted from each, an amazing scriptorian. Marion G Romney had the Book of Mormon memorized – he said if you give him a verse, he can tell you the verse before and after it.

Brigham’s Adam God doctrine was expounding on the King Follet discourse of Joseph Smith on the plurality of Gods, it got 19/20 things right, he was just confused about Adam, he adopted Heber C Kimball’s theory that Adam was a resurrected being born on another world, but Adam was born on this world.

Some say Brigham didn’t ever teach Adam God, but he did, and when he tried to put it into temple doctrine, the Lord took him right near that time (about within 3 years of that time he died). The Lord doesn’t let the prophet lead the people astray in major doctrinal ways. Brigham accidentally says Adam was God; John Jesus’ closest disciple similarly mistakes an angel as the Lord worshipping him; BY didn’t have JS’s scriptures and its ok he made an incorrect theory like John, it was not evil. It’s only when he implements this at the temple that he is removed.

Adam was there at the preaching to the dead as seen in the vision as a spirit waiting for resurrection, this is further evidence that Adam is not Heavenly Father. Adam has the same name as God, Ahman, which is another reason for there to easily be confusion on Adam and Gods identities.

Joseph’s King Follett sermon says there is a lot of principles that aren’t correctly and completely in our current cannon of scripture. Think of Moses giving us Genesis, of all those before Moses, and yet Moses gives it to us. We lack records of many prophets. There’s a manuscript for $100 of more complete JST. Robert Matthews copied the whole thing. Joseph had scribes, and a bible with markings of what to change. Scribes wrote the changed part in the manuscript, so you need that bible and that manuscript. The Pearl of Great Price is the reorganized church’s version of first few chapters of book of Genesis; Joseph Smith 3^rd didn’t like some things Joseph Smith his father had done, like re-aging Adam to 1000 when he died; others in early church history said Joseph was 999.5 when he died; Methuselah was 1000, etc. They have JS 3^rd initials and strike throughs of where he changed things JS did. Then he published it. So the PoGP ages are wrong in our current edition to do JS 3rds changes deleting some JS edits.

Joseph had taught of the “Garden of God”, where God had Adam, that God took fruit which allowed him to have children. Brigham simply thought that was talking about Adam taking fruit to have children. Its easy to see how this was confused.

Coon says Eden was in Mesopotamia and says Joseph Smith and Hebrews say that too. That Brigham was wrong about Joseph saying it was in Missouri. The Garden of God was in Missouri, and Eden was eastward in Palestine. Remember “eastward in Eden” as the scripture says. The key is that the Garden of God is not the same thing as the Garden of Eden! We don’t have anything on Joseph teaching Eden here. Joseph spoke of a Garden of God, perhaps different than the Garden of Eden. Names of rivers unchanged by JST vindicate Palestinian Eden: Abraham’s creation account of Eden describes the rivers like Moses in Genesis, but doesn’t attach the lands they were a part of. Assyria from Asher, a descendant of Noah. Abraham account says the rivers came at a head; the lands were not yet named. We have this in PoGP which Brigham didn’t have, Emma had it. Joseph didn’t change the lands that Moses ascribed; Moses names the lands as they are established by his time; all Hebrews know those lands there, the lands attached to the Garden of Eden; JS didn’t correct any of that. Brigham said JS taught Eden in America, but if JS said that he would have changed the inspired translation of those lands but he left them all there. Abraham not naming the lands is divine proof of Joseph Smith, as the lands weren’t named back in the time of Abraham! If JS knew of Eden in Palestine, what was he talking about Garden of God over here? Brigham thought this Garden of God JS spoke of here meant Eden. JS did talk about Adam having come over to America, and Cain and Abel happening in America. When Adam was kicked out of Eden, he went back “from whence he came to till the ground” which was in Missouri at where the Garden of God was. Book of Mormon says when flood waters receded, this land America became choice above all others. Adam was here at the end of his life, all patriarchs were here, Noah built his boat here. Giant earthquake at end of flood moved Noah’s ark over to the east (Turkey). God the Father and Mother were in the Garden of God, a set apart place for them to come and give birth to the first parents of the people of earth.

Adam in Garden of God before Garden of Eden: God speaking firsthand in scripture says that He made all but not yet was physical flesh upon earth after the 7 days of creation. The first flesh upon earth is Adam, he’s the first live thing other than plants. The earth was here, the seeds of life planted, all planned, that’s when the rain comes, he creates Adam, after Adam he creates the garden of Eden. That’s the chronology the Lord gives. This is important here as it shows Adam was already around before Eden was created. So where was Adam at this time? In the Garden of God! This was where he was born and raised. It seems Eve was a bit younger than Adam, as she wasn’t introduced into Eden until a bit later after Adam had named the animals, etc.

Eastward in Eden is way away from the Garden of God where God sired Adam & Eve, then Adam went to Eden in the east. Adam lived 1000 years, he had plenty of time to travel to this ground to where he was taken from, to America. Adam in Eden he was told to till the garden, he would be told as a man not a baby. He wasn’t a baby in Eden. Adam then left Eden went to till the ground from whence he came. Cretecious period was all animals to come at once; yes they all came at once, Adam named them.  1^st Adam is placed in Eden to till it, he was alone which wasn’t good, so when Eve was raised, God delivered her to Eden too. When kicked out of the Garden, they ended up back over here where the Garden of God which was in America.

Nephites and Jaredites were lead here the most choice land. This God being here was more holy than where the Savior was for that reason. The Garden of God is where the God was, eastward from it is Eden.

 

DIVINE CONCEPTION:

Brigham speaks of Adam being born the natural way with a belly button etc. Correct. Brigham speaks of God coming to Eden and partaking the fruit which allowed him to sire mortals rather than celestials. Brigham speaks of the dust of earth creation and rib both being figurative. Heavenly beings set aside and dedicated a holy area, Eden, to have their children.

When it says from “the dust” that Adam was made, it is referring to how God took the fruit which put that element in his body, “the dust”, and this is what made the temporary change in his body to be able to have physical children. God (Heavenly Father and Mother) creates people on the earth’s he oversees the creation of. Many quotes show that people aren’t made of adobe clay, but are made through the natural process of procreation between two parents.

(Note: Mary the mother of Jesus was, according to the Book of Mormon, “carried away for a time” for her conception; the Holy Ghost transfigured her so she could be in the presence of God in the celestial kingdom for the conception, after which she was brought back to earth with child.)

Heavenly Father and Mother populate planets. They give birth to the first Adam and Eve. Its their right and calling. That is what we do if we become Gods. They planted a garden, the fruit making them able to conceive.